Top 10 Woody Allen Movies

Woody Allen has made many movies in his time, and still averages around one movie per year. Allen is a director you either love or hate – I happen to love his films – but I am sure this list will have some very extreme comments from both perspectives. This list compiles not only the obvious choices but also some not so obvious ones.

10

Small Time Crooks

2000

Woody Allen stars, along with Tracy Ullman, in this funny film about a husband and wife who try to steal money from a bank. They do this by buying a neighboring pizza place, and turning it into a cookie shop so they can tunnel under it and inside the bank. The plan gets shot down when people actually want to buy cookies from the fake shop. It’s a hilarious piece of work that has a good start, a weak middle and a strong ending.

9

Deconstructing Harry

1997

In this film Woody Allen plays a writer who finds out he’s getting an award from his school and he decides he doesn’t wanna go alone. He takes along his best friend, a prostitute, and his son (against his ex-wife’s wishes). Also in the film we see characters from the stories he’s written come to life, such as Robin Williams as a literally out of focus man. Another hilarious moment is Billy Crystal as the devil. If this sounds as crazy as anything, it is.

8

Manhattan Murder Mystery

1993

This film stars Woody Allen and reunites him with long time co-star Diane Keaton. It also brings back Alan Alda who was previously in Crimes and Misdemeanors. In the film Woody Allen and Diane Keaton play a married couple who discover a murder, and decide to play detectives a la The Thin Man. It’s a brilliant piece of film because of its sense of realism, and the fact that it could happen in real life.

7

Zelig

1983

Woody Allen makes a farce on documentaries in this film. He plays Leonard Zelig, a human chameleon who can blend into any background and is seen at many of the most historical events in history. This film also stars Mia Farrow as a psychiatrist who tries to cure him of his changing. It’s funny seeing Allen change face and form, and even language, as he morphs into whoever he’s around at the time.

6

Sleeper

1973

In this hilarious film about the future, Woody Allen plays Miles Monroe, a jazz musician who is frozen and not defrosted until two hundred years in the future. He doesn’t know how to deal with it since everything has changed so much. He pretends to be a robot and kidnaps Luna, who is played by Diane Keaton, and they try to figure out how to destroy an evil dictator. It’s full of laughs and funny to see what a comedian’s idea of the future was like.

5

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex

1972

The film was based on a book by Dr. David Reuben, published in 1969. The film is comprised of a series of sketches on the subject of sex, including Woody Allen as a court jester trying to seduce a queen and a cross dressing husband. It’s a real trip to watch.

4

Take the Money and Run

1969

This movie is like Zelig in the sense that it’s another documentary style parody. Woody Allen plays an escaped convict who is trying to escape, for good, from the law. He meets a girl that he really likes and everything seems to work out, until he tries to rob a bank with terrible results (they can’t read his hold up note). It’s a humorous film that keeps the laughs going every second it can.

3

Bananas

1971

In this film Woody Allen plays a products tester for a large corporation who feels his life is going nowhere. Then he gets on the subway and is mangled by a young Sly Stallone, in his first major film appearance. However, he meets a female activist, played by Louise Lasser, and things start looking up. When they break up he takes a trip to a little country called San Marcos, where the revolutionaries decide to assassinate the ruler of the country. Eventually, Allen becomes ruler of San Marcos and goes back to the US after getting involved in what is one of the funniest courtroom scenes ever. There’s a great cameo by Howard Cosell and much much more.

2

Play it Again, Sam

1972

Woody Allen and Diane Keaton supposedly met when they were auditioning for the play that this movie was based on, and they both found each other delighted by their sense of humor. If that is true then it’s no question why they ended up doing a film of the play in 1972. The premise is a very uncool man, played by Woody Allen, tries to emulate one of his great movie heroes, Humphrey Bogart, so he can meet women. To the extent that Bogart himself (played by Jerry Lacy) is giving him dating advice. He has a female friend (Linda) who is played by Diane Keaton, she is married to Dick who is played by Tony Roberts. He is a businessman who never pays any attention to his wife, and Woody Allen figures that he should be with Linda instead of him. The hilarity starts when Woody Allen’s character is set up on several dates which led to very humorous results. A real hilarious picture.

1

Annie Hall

1977

Yes, this film has probably won the most awards, and received the most nominations so far of any of Woody Allen’s films. If you’ve seen it already, there’s no need to go into much details, but the basic story is about Woody Allen’s character, Alvy. Alvy happens to be a stand up comic, much like Allen himself who started in the same field, and his relationship with Annie Hall, played by Diane Keaton. It is one of his funniest films, and it has been parodied several times in tv shows and other media. One of my favorite scenes is when Woody is standing in line for a movie and a man who teaches film is behind him. He is trying to explain the plots and sub plots of director Marshall McLuhan’s films, and Allen actually brings him forth to speak to the guy, telling him that he knows nothing of his work and how he got to teach a course in anything is nothing short of amazing. If you haven’t seen this film go see it immediately, and if you don’t enjoy it the first time then wait a while and see it again, it will grow on you.

+

Manhattan

1979

This is probably the best known Woody Allen film on the list, and for that reason I have made it a bonus item instead of ranking it (where it would probably take top spot). If you have never seen a Woody Allen film, this is the one to see. Isaac (Allen), 42, has divorced Jill. She is now living with another woman, Connie, and is writing a book in which she will reveal some very private points of their relationship. Isaac has a love affair with Tracy, 17, when he meets Mary, the mistress of his best friend, Yale. This film features some stunning cinematography and really is worth the watch.